Review on Cuckoo CMC-QSN501S Q5 Superior Multifunctional 5 Quarts, Black Multi-Pressure Cooker by Tammy Sims

tl:dr - Cuckoo pressure cooker timer is for total cook time, not time at pressure. This is contrary to how all pressure cooker recipes are written, making this electric pressure cooker essentially pointless for following pressure cooker recipes.I took a chance on this Cuckoo Multi Pressure Cooker over the ubiquitous instant pot. I was excited about the possibility of the automatic steam valve and overall aesthetic. Unfortunately it is getting returned.All pressure cooker recipes are written and based on time-at-pressure.This is done because once a pressure cooker has reached pressure it is at more or less a known temperature (Similar to preheating an oven). The time it takes to get to pressure will vary depending on the size of the pressure cooker, how full it is, and the actual makeup of the stuff (More liquid versus more solid).To account for this - most (probably all - I double checked the manuals for 4 popular brands) other pressure cookers have a timer that doesn't start counting down until the pressure cooker actually reaches pressurization.Design Defect Number 1Unfortunately the timer on this Cuckoo works differently - the timer starts counting down as soon as you start cooking, and doesn't take into account whether the cooker has reached pressurization or not. This presents two big challenges.Following recipes written for other pressure cookers simply will not work, because the pressure cooking times given on those recipes assumes the timer will not start counting down until the pressure cooker reaches the pressurization stage.One example of the result of this - All pressure cooker recipes require some liquid for the pressure cooker to pressurize and work. This can just be plain water or a broth or sauce. In this cuckoo, starting with cold versus warm liquids would affect the outcome of a recipe because the starting temperature of these liquids would affect how long it takes for the unit to come up to pressure. In other pressure cookers, this could still somewhat affect the outcome, but the effect would be much less since the most important thing in pressure cooking is time at pressure.Design Defect Number 2The machine does not give you any indication whether it is at pressure or not - so even if you wanted to take your own run at adjusting recipes written for other pressure cookers, it's impossible (or at least would be very difficult) for you to know how much to adjust the recipe by, because you basically have to just guess whether it is at pressure or not.I don't know how Cuckoo overlooked something so fundamental to pressure cooking. I would not recommend this unit to anyone.